Improvement in middlings-purifiers



c. s. FULLER. mailings-runners.

N0,I48,202, PatentedMarch 3,1874.

Sffra'rns vCLARK S. FULLER, OF OSWEGO, NEW YORK.

lMPROVEVENT IN MIDDLINGS-PURIFIERS.

Specization forming part of Letters Patent No. 45,202, dated March 3,1874; applicati-on filed February 17, 1874.

To alt whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLARK S. FULLER, ot' the city and county of Oswegoand State ot' N ew York, have invented certain Improvements inMiddlings-Furiiiers, of which the following is a specitication:

My improvement relates to that class of machines in which a bolt or reelis employed for separating the impurities from the good middlings, themain feature of the invention consisting of a reel-bolt composed ofoverlapping segments, jointed or hinged, so that the overlapping edgeswill automatically open as they pass above the horizontal plane oftheaxis, or thereabout, and form longitudinal apertures for the escape ofthe impurities from the reel, and, as they approach said horizontalplane, close and prevent any escape of the material from the lower halfofthe reel, except through the meshes of the wire-cloth covering.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure l is a vertical section of myimproved machine. Fig. 2 is a vertical section inline x x, Fig. l. Figs.3 and et are modifications of the frame sections ofthe bolt, one showingan angular and the other a straight cross-section.

Like letters of reference designate like parts in each of the figures.

A is the frame and casin g of the machine. B is the bolting-reel,mounted in a slightly-inclined position in this casing, iu which it iitsso as to leave but a narrow space between the reel and the casing oneach side. The reel B is formed of rectangular frames B1, covered withbolting-cloth, he ends or cross-sections ot' which may be eitherstraight, curved, or angular, as shown in Figs. 1,3, and 4. Thebolting-cloth may be of uniform texture, or it may be secured to theframing in pieces having a different texture, increasing in linenessfrom the tail to the head of the bolt in the usual manner. These framesor segments are hinged at one edge by means of pivots, which connect thecorn ers at their ends with the head and tail pieces B2 and B3,respectively, so as to form a sort of flap-valve, with the free edge ofeach underlapping the hinged edge of the adjacent frame. The free endsof these frames are allowed to swu'ng inward until arrested by the stopsof the head-piece B2, which is formed with shoulders that conform to theposition of the segments when swung inward or open. This head-piece issecured tothe reel-shaft d by rods or spokes b. The tailpiece B3 is ofcircular outline, and is secured by rods or spokes in any suitablemanner to a frusta-cone-shaped deiector, B4, secured to the reel-shaftat its tailend, with its smaller end extending into the central opening,so as to partially close the same, leaving an annular outlet, in frontof which project the edges of the delector B4, `for a purpose presentlyto be explained. The ends of the segmental frames Bl are connected tothe head and tail pieces by cloth, to prevent the escape of the materialat these places. The top of the casing, at a, connects with thewind-trunk H, which communicates with the eye of the fan, so as to forman exhaust-chamber, E, within the casing. F F are wing-boards above thereel, hinged to the casin g at their lower edges, so that their upperand free edges are inclined toward the center and air-outlet a. Theinclinations of these boards are adjusted, and the -openings betweentheir adjacent edges regulated, by hand-levers f, attached to the boardsand extending to the outside ofthe casing. J is the hopper, formed inthe chamber E below the reel, and discharging into a trough., k,provided with a conveyer, L. m m are anypsuitable valves or openings,through which air is admitted into the exhaust-chamber below the reel,and by which`the force of the draft can be regulated. The unpuriedmiddlings is fed into the reel at the head thereof, through a spout, inany suitable and well-known inanner. The opening at the tail of the boltmay also be connected in any suitable manner with the wind-trunk thatleads to the eye of the fan.

The machine being set in motion, an exhaustcurrent is induced upwardthrough and around the reel-post. As the latter revolves in thedirection of the central arrow the free edges of the segmental framesthat are below the horizontal line s s fall outwardly by gravity, andrest against the hinged edges of the adjoining frame, so as to form aclose casing around the lower half of the reel, as shown in Fig. 1. Whencarried by the revolution of the reel above this horizontal line theframes fall inward and rest upon the stops formed by the heads of thebolts and vdetlector B4, so as to leave an open space between theadjacent edges of the frames, running longitudinally of the bolt,through which particles of bran and other light impurities within thebolt are carrried upward with the air-current induced by the fan, andare permitted freely to escape, whence they are conducted through thewind-trunk to the fan. Thegood middlings sift through the meshes ofthewire cloth in the lower and closed portion ot' the bolt, Jfrom whencethey fall through the hopper into the trough L', from which they aredischarged by the eonveyer in a well-known manner at one end, or throughseveral openings when the different grades ot material are required tobe kept separate. As the reel revolves and brings the segments below theline s s, the free edge of the segments swing outward against the iixededges ot' the adjacent ones, thereby producing a concussion which jarsand clears the wire cloth in a most et'ticient manner ot the materialwhich has lodged in its meshes or adhered thereto. lf desired, a stripof cloth, u, attached to a pendulous frame, w, as shown in Fie'. l, soas to sweep in contact with the outer surface of the bolt may also beemployed for the purpose. The free edges oi' the hinged segments arebeveled, as shown at i, so that the material will more readily fall fromone segment to the other and be more eii'ectually prevented fromescaping between the segments as the reel revolves. rlhe cone-shapedshield B4 operates to cause the heavier impurities that have not escapedat the top ofthe reel to pass around the edges of the shield before theycan escape through the annular outlet at the tail ot' the reel, wherebyany granules of good middlings th at may be carried along with theair-current are arrested and deflected upon the wire bolting-cloth. rlheinclined wing-boards F serve to deflect the impurities as they risetoward the discharge-aperture, and thus facilitate the escape, whilethey may also be employed to regulate the force, of the draft.

While I prefer as the simplest the segments operating by gr avity, ashereinbefore described, yet I do not wish to confine myself to thismeans, as the segments can be kept open or closed, as desired, by meansof springs and other mechanism actuated from the outer end of thereel-shaft.

What I claim as my invention is 1. A reel-bolt composed of hingedsegments which open and close, and thereby form apertures at the top ot'the reel for the escape of the impurities as the reel revolves,substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

2. The combination, with an exhaustchamber communicating at the top withthe eye of thel fan, of the hinged segmental reel B B', as and for thepurpose hereinbefore set forth.

8. The combination, with the tail end of the reel and the outlet formedtherein, of the shield and dcliector B4, as and for the purposehercinbefore set forth.

Witnesses: ULARK S. FULLER.

(Juas. l. UNDnnwoon, J. T. Cntvrn.

